Context

Context can effect the meaning, the situation and - to put it bluntly - is something in something. This can't be any truer when it comes to galleries and the work they display, whether it be photos, sculptures or paintings.

If we take The Graves, in Sheffield, for example. Overall the gallery is quite traditional, the type of gallery you would expect to exhibit more dramatic pieces. For example, when we went to view the gallery Fay Godwin's work was up and due to the dramatic landscapes that she took, the high contrast, it fitted in well with the over all mood of the place as did the deep red walls it was displayed on. The Graves was also exhibiting paintings, primarily of landscapes and regal figures which added to the more upstanding, posh feel to the place. The somewhat elaborate and gold plated frames of the paintings also added to this as well as the towering doors and walls.

Another gallery in Sheffield would be the Site Gallery which is on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to gallery space. Where The Graves has wide open spaces and the colours of the walls often reflected or added to the mood of the art on display, deep red for Fay Godwin and a mild green for the portraiture, the walls in the Site Gallery are just plain white. Moreover the Site Gallery exhibits pieces of work on canvas and projected onto the walls - such as short films - which is more modern and almost more down to earth.then The Graves.

Interactive art

Julian Beever is an artist who specialises in 3D chalk drawings on pavements. His works of art engage the viewer due to the way that they are almost confusing, the high quality of each image and also the way that people will pose and join in with the images adds to the initial confusion about them. The chalk drawings are high quality, with a high amount of detail. Below is an example of his work.

Turbine Hall is an artist who builds sculptures that are, in thier own way, quite peculiar and surreal. One of his latest pieces of work to go on display is the sunflower seed installation in the Tate Modern, Hall wanted the public to interact with his piece - to walk on the seeds and be a part of the work - however due to health and safety his piece had to be corded off. He also has done other work such as the crack, a large crack in the floor of the gallery. Below are pictures of the Sunflower seeds and the crack.

Banksy is a British artist who is famous for his street art and graffiti, which in most cases increases the price of the property. He has done a series of exhibitions, one being 'The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill' in New York. In this exhibition Banksy took over a store in New York and over a series of weeks turned it into a pet store, which attracted attention before it had opened due to the art works which had initially been mistaken for actual animals -such as the leopard coat that was initially mistaken for an actual leapord and also the model of a monkey watching tv. To add to the effect of this he also had the smells of a pet shop within the exhibition to add to the feel of an actual petshop adding to the interaction as well as the mix of outrage and shock over the project. Below is some of the shlots from this exhibition.

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Saachi Gallery.

The composition, layoutof the images is eye catching - different frames (size and colour) attract attention and make eye move around to try and take it all in. Different from most gallery spaces I've seen as images are all together, rather then spread far apart to make the room look bigger. The pattern on the wall behind the frames also attracts the attention to as it goes well with the frames, the brown more wooden looking ones and makes the lighter/darker frames stand out more.

Like the way it is set out almost like a book, eyes drawn from top of wall to the bottom and again. The layout also resembles a bookshelf which adds to the book like feel to the image, makes the viewer more interested in reading perhaps? White letters stand out against the orange background, orange walls make it less book like in a way - more bookish if letters were black and walls white.

Black and white images presented next to bright colourful ones, a good contrast against each other. Black and white stripes drawing attention in more then colourful pieces, more eye catching, however the black and white images attract the attention to the more colourful images. White walls help to make the pieces stand out.

Early bird gets the worm....

Early bird gets the worm....
Originally uploaded by . : : v i S H a l : : .

Humming bird

Humming bird
Originally uploaded by doug88888

Wish i could take something this awesome T^T